Sanctions on Abramovich mean Chelsea can no longer sign players or new contracts

Roman Abramovich has been sanctioned and had his assets frozen by the UK government which has devastating consequences for Chelsea Football Club.

Asides from the obvious trauma of the club owner being so publicly disgraced, Chelsea are going to undergo some changes within this period.

The club has been given a special license to continue with football-related activities, but there so many limitations to their operations.

Chelsea can no longer sell matchday tickets and only season-ticket holders will be allowed to attend games which means Stamford Bridge is about to be near-empty for the foreseeable future because even away fans are no longer allowed.

No sale of merchandise is allowed anymore which means jerseys, kits or anything from the Chelsea store is now contraband.

As it stands, Chelsea are also not allowed to sign any players or even extend the contracts of those at the club right now which could lead to a nightmare situation.

Key players like Antonio Rudiger and club captain Cesar Azpilicueta are in the last few months of their contracts which will expire in June.

If the situation remains the same, they will all be allowed to leave with Chelsea being powerless to stop it.

All of this happening has a poetic ring to it as Chelsea celebrates its 117th anniversary, one which will now always be remembered as the day the club was frozen.